Lucille’s Service Station

Location: Old Route 66 just south of Hydro, Oklahoma

Photographed: July 2014

Accessibility: Lucille’s is closed and empty, but not deserted. An oil company does basic upkeep on the historic building and its motor court. Picnic tables are available out front and the interior may be seen thru the windows. A registered historic landmark, a marker stands next to it detailing the history of the location.

History:  Lucille’s Service Station is a once hub of Route 66 and home to the motorist friendly woman known as the Mother of the Mother Road, Lucille Hamons. Originally built in 1929, with the small group of guest units  beside it added separately in the thirties, Lucille and her husband Carl purchased the gas station in 1941 and she continued to operate it for another 59 years.  After her passing, the land was purchased, but the gas station, a landmark on the national historic register, was left intact. The building itself is unique, a bungalow style house and service station with the living quarters directly above the station and pumps. Of these mom and pop service stations that sprang up in the 1920s and 1930s with the growth of the highways such as Route 66, Lucille’s is one of only a few left in the country built in that style.